Method for expressing emotion in a text message

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment of the present invention, while composing a textual message, a portion of the textual message is dynamically indicated as having heightened emotional value. In one embodiment, this is indicated by depressing a key on a keyboard for a period longer than a typical debounce interval. While the key remains depressed, a plurality of text parameters for the character associated with the depressed key are accessed and one of the text parameters is chosen. Animation processing is then performed upon the textual message and the indicated portion of the textual message is visually emphasized in the animated text message.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Divisional of, claims the benefit of, and priorityto co-pending, commonly-owned U.S. patent application with AttorneyDocket No. SONY-50R4879.02, Ser. No. 10/266,544, filed on Oct. 7, 2002,by Ryutaro Sakai, and titled “A METHOD FOR EXPRESSING EMOTION IN A TEXTMESSAGE,” which claims priority to and benefit of USPTO provisionalapplication No. 60/340,471 filed Dec. 12, 2001, entitled “DYNAMIC ANDEMOTIONAL MOTION TEXT WITH VOICE RECOGNITION, PRESSURE-SENSITIVEKEYBOARD INPUT” by Ryutaro Sakai, Attorney Docket No. 50R4879, assignedto the assignee of the present invention, and claims priority to andbenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/353,863, filed Jan. 31,2002 entitled “DYNAMIC AND EMOTIONAL MOTION TEXT WITH VOICERECOGNITION/PRESSURE SENSITIVE KEYBOARD INPUT” by Ryutaro Sakai,Attorney Docket No. 50R4879.01, assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention, and claims priority to and benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/393,652, filed Jul. 3, 2002, entitled “DYNAMIC ANDEMOTIONAL MOTION TEXT WITH VOICE RECOGNITION/PRESSURE SENSITIVE KEYBOARDINPUT” by Ryutaro Sakai, Attorney Docket No. 50S5056, assigned to theassignee of the present invention, all of which are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of text messaging. Morespecifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed tomethods for expressing emotion in a text message.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computers are widely used as communications tools which allow users toexchange information via electronic mail (e-mail), chat rooms, instantmessaging, alpha-numeric paging, etc. However, many users find itineffective at conveying emotion and emphasis, which are importantcomponents of personal communication. For example, e-mail and instantmessaging are typically displayed with standardized font settings whichdisplay a uniform appearance throughout the document. In other words,the font size, color, font style (e.g., bold, italic, or underlined),etc. are uniform throughout the document. While this is adequate forconveying information, it is not as effective as human speech inconveying emphasis or emotion. In particular, the uniform appearancecannot convey certain nuances which might be apparent in personalinteractions such as irony or sarcasm which rely upon voice pitch andinflection to indicate emphasis and emotion.

To overcome these shortcomings, users can manually re-format portions ofthe text message to indicate emphasis. For example, a user may selectdifferent fonts, colors, or font styles (e.g., bold, italic, orunderlined fonts) e.g., using pull down menus. However, many users findit inconvenient to interrupt their typing in order to access pull downmenus and menu commands using a mouse. Therefore, many users decline toindicate emotion or emphasis in their personal communications.

Other users have resorted to including emotional icons, also referred toas “emoticons” in their messages. Emoticons are strings of symbols whichare used to compensate for the inability to convey voice inflections,facial expressions, and physical gestures in written communication. Mostare meant to resemble a face (e.g., eyes, nose, and mouth) when rotatedninety degrees clockwise. However, there are no standard definitions foremoticons and therefore, the possibility for mis-interpreting thewriter's intent remains. Furthermore, the emoticons are staticcharacters and are still limited in indicating the intensity ormagnitude of the emphasis they are meant to convey.

Speech recognition software can also be used to create text documents. Aprimary goal of speech recognition software is to allow users tointeract with computers using natural speech. However, it has provendifficult to realize an acceptable level of performance in recognizingthe spoken command and deriving the content of that message. Therefore,the emphasis with speech recognition software developers has beendirected to recognizing the spoken command more accurately. Othercomponents of the spoken command such as voice volume and voice pitchare simply regarded as extraneous information which is not utilized.Therefore, voice to text messages are similarly ineffective in conveyingemotion and emphasis to the recipient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a need exists for a method of expressing a user's emotionsin a text message. An additional need exists for a method which meetsthe above need and which is convenient to use while composing a textmessage. A need further exists for a method which meets the above statedneeds and which is capable of expressing the intensity of the user'semotions in a text message.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for expressingemotions in a computer readable text message. Furthermore, embodimentsof the present invention facilitate dynamically indicating emotionswhile composing a text message. Therefore, a user does not, for example,have to interrupt their typing in order to indicate emphasis or emotionin their message. Additionally, embodiments of the present inventionfacilitate providing various degrees of emphasis in the text message toexpress various levels of emotional intensity.

In one embodiment of the present invention, while composing a textualmessage, a portion of the textual message is dynamically indicated ashaving heightened emotional value. In one embodiment, this is indicatedby depressing a key on a keyboard for a period longer than a typicaldebounce interval. While the key remains depressed, a plurality of textparameters for the character associated with the depressed key areaccessed and one of the text parameters is chosen. Animation processingis then performed upon the textual message and the indicated portion ofthe textual message is visually emphasized in the animated text message.In embodiments of the present invention, the animation processing may beperformed upon the textual equivalent of an audio message to create theanimated text message.

The following example shows how components of the present invention maybe used to indicate emotion in a text message according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A user types a text message whichis used as the input for a text animation engine. The user dynamicallyindicates the portions of the text message which have greater emotionalvalue. The user may also determine animation parameters which are usedwhen visually emphasizing an animated text message to indicate emotionand/or emphasis to recipient.

In other embodiments of the present invention, an audio message, such asa spoken message, is accessed. The text animation engine creates atextual equivalent of the audio message and detects portions of theaudio message which are audibly louder or spoken at a different pitchthan other parts of the audio message. The text animation engineindicates that these portions have greater emotional value and, usingpre-set animation parameters, creates an animated text message in whichthe portions having greater emotional value are visually emphasized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. Unless specifically noted, the drawings referred to in thisdescription should be understood as not being drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system upon whichembodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components used in a method for expressingemotion in a text message in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary text animation engine utilizedin embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C show sequences of text messages that have beenanimated in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C show additional sequences of text messages thathave been animated in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 shows exemplary text appearances having font parameters that areadjusted in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, and 7B are exemplary graphical user interfaces for a handheldwireless device showing an animated text message in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are exemplary graphical user interfaces showing ananimated text message in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 shows exemplary text appearances having font parameters basedupon voice pitch and volume in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for expressing emotion in textmessage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows one method for emphasizing a portion of a text message inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for expressing emotion in textmessage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method for expressing emotion in textmessage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method for expressing emotion in textmessage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are sequences showing a text message animated inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a method for expressing emotion in textmessage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method for indicating a portion of a textualmessage having heightened emotional value in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary handheld wireless device displaying a messagein which portions are visually emphasized in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows another exemplary handheld wireless device displaying amessage in which portions are visually emphasized in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show implementations for displaying animated textmessages upon handheld wireless devices and personal computers inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. While the present invention will be described in conjunctionwith the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are notintended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. On thecontrary, the present invention is intended to cover alternatives,modifications, and equivalents which may be included within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the presentinvention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beobvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not beendescribed in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of thepresent invention.

Notation and Nomenclature

Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented interms of procedures, logic blocks, processing and other symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the means used by thoseskilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. In the presentapplication, a procedure, logic block, process, or the like, isconceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructionsleading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signal capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated in a computer system.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present invention,discussions utilizing terms such as “accessing,” “choosing,”“processing,” “expressing,” “de-emphasizing,” “indicating,” “creating,”“identifying,” “assigning,” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

With reference to FIG. 1, portions of the present invention arecomprised of computer-readable and computer-executable instructions thatreside, for example, in computer system 100 which is used as a part of ageneral purpose computer network (not shown). It is appreciated thatcomputer system 100 of FIG. 1 is exemplary only and that the presentinvention can operate within a number of different computer systemsincluding general-purpose computer systems, embedded computer systems,laptop computer systems, hand-held computer systems, and cellulartelephone systems.

In the present embodiment, computer system 100 includes an address/databus 101 for conveying digital information between the variouscomponents, a processor 102 for processing the digital information andinstructions, a volatile main memory 103 comprised of volatile randomaccess memory (RAM) for storing the digital information andinstructions, and a non-volatile read only memory (ROM) 104 for storinginformation and instructions of a more permanent nature. In addition,computer system 100 may also include a data storage device 105 (e.g., amagnetic, optical, floppy, or tape drive or the like) for storing vastamounts of data. It should be noted that the software program forperforming a method for expressing emotion in a text message of thepresent invention can be stored either in volatile memory 103, datastorage device 105, or in an external storage device (not shown).

Devices which are optionally coupled to computer system 100 include adisplay device 106 for displaying information to a computer user, analpha-numeric input device 107 (e.g., a keyboard), and a cursor controldevice 108 (e.g., mouse, trackball, light pen, etc.) for inputting data,selections, updates, etc. Computer system 100 can also include amechanism for emitting an audible signal (not shown).

Returning still to FIG. 1, optional display device 106 of FIG. 1 may bea liquid crystal device, cathode ray tube, or other display devicesuitable for creating graphic images and alpha-numeric charactersrecognizable to a user. Optional cursor control device 108 allows thecomputer user to dynamically signal the two dimensional movement of avisible symbol (cursor) on a display screen of display device 106. Manyimplementations of cursor control device 108 are known in the artincluding a trackball, mouse, touch pad, joystick, or special keys onalpha-numeric input 107 capable of signaling movement of a givendirection or manner displacement. Alternatively, it will be appreciatedthat a cursor can be directed an/or activated via input fromalpha-numeric input 107 using special keys and key sequence commands.Alternatively, the cursor may be directed and/or activated via inputfrom a number of specially adapted cursor directing devices.

Furthermore, computer system 100 can include an input/output (I/O)signal unit (e.g., interface) 109 for interfacing with a peripheraldevice 110 (e.g., a computer network, modem, mass storage device, etc.).Accordingly, computer system 100 may be coupled in a network, such as aclient/server environment, whereby a number of clients (e.g., personalcomputers, workstations, portable computers, minicomputers, terminals,etc.) are used to run processes for performing desired tasks (e.g., amethod for expressing emotion in a text message, etc).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components used in a method for expressingemotion in a text message in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. In FIG. 2, a textual message 210 or an audio message 220 canbe utilized as inputs to text animation engine 230. In accordance withembodiments of the present invention, these inputs are converted intoanimated text (e.g., animated text message 260) in which portions havinggreater emotional value are visually emphasized.

In one embodiment of the present invention, textual message 210comprises written text as well as information input by the user whichindicates a portion of textual message 210 which has greater emotionalvalue to the user. In one embodiment, text animation engine 230 createsan XML document 240 which conveys the textual content of textual message210 and indicates the portions of textual message 210 which have greateremotional value.

In another embodiment of the present invention, audio message 220comprises a spoken message which is converted into textual equivalent bytext animation engine 230. However, while the present embodiment recitesa spoken message, the present invention is well suited for using otheraudio inputs as well such as musical lyrics, television broadcasts, etc.Additional processing is performed by text animation engine 230 toidentify portions of audio message 220 which have greater emotionalvalue. Text animation engine 230 then creates XML document 240 whichconveys the textual content of audio message 220 and indicates theportions of textual message 210 which have greater emotional value.While the present embodiment recites creating an XML document, thepresent invention is well suited for sending a message in other formatsas well in order to create animated text message 260. For example, thepresent invention can send document 270 formatted as a QuickTime file,Real Player file, Macromedia Flash file, etc, if a receiving computer(e.g., computer 280) is not configured with a similar text animationengine (e.g., text animation engine 250).

In embodiments of the present invention, XML document 240 may be sent toa recipient who, using another text animation engine (e.g., textanimation engine 250), interprets XML document 240 to create animatedtext message 260. In embodiments of the present invention, animated textmessage 260 conveys the textual content of textual message 210 and/oraudio message 220 and visually emphasizes the portions of textualmessage 210 and/or audio message 220 which have been indicated as havinggreater emotional value in animated text message 260.

Embodiments of the present invention facilitate creating text messageswhich convey emotion more accurately than standardized text messages.For example, e-mail and instant messaging are popular forms ofcommunication which are typically displayed with standardized fontsettings. In other words, the font size, color, font style (e.g., bold,italic, or underlined), etc. are uniform throughout the document. Thisis adequate for conveying information, but is not as effective as humanspeech in conveying emphasis or emotion. While a user may choose tomanually reformat the message, most users find the steps for manuallyreformatting a message inconvenient and therefore use the standardizedfont settings.

The present invention differentiates the portions of a message which auser indicates as having greater emotional value and visually emphasizesthose portions in an animated text message. Thus, embodiments of thepresent invention allow a user to quickly and accurately convey theemphasis and emotion of a spoken message in a text message. Furthermore,embodiments of the present invention do not require any specialprogramming skills on the part of the user in order to create theanimated text message. Additionally, embodiments of the presentinvention allow a user to express varying levels of emphasis in theanimated text message.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary text animation engine 230which may be utilized in embodiments of the present invention. Data fromtextual message 210 is received into text plug-in 211. In embodiments ofthe present invention, textual message 210 comprises textual content 212and text parameter information 213. Textual content 212 is the literaltranscription of textual message 210. Text parameter information 213 isadditional information, dynamically provided by the user, whichindicates the portions of textual message 210 that have greateremotional value. There are a variety of methods for a user todynamically indicate the portions of textual message 210 which havegreater emotional value and which are described in greater detail below.Additionally, the user may dynamically provide information whichindicates portions of textual message 210 that have less emotional valueand may be visually de-emphasized in embodiments of the presentinvention.

Textual content 212 and text parameter information 213 are received byXML module 231. XML is a markup language which describes data usingappended tags to define the attributes of sections, also referred to as“elements”, of data. The XML attributes provide information that is notpart of the data, but may be important to the software attempting tomanipulate the data. XML module 231 is used to create XML document 240using textual content 212 and text parameter information 213.

In embodiments of the present invention, XML document 240 utilizes theScalable Vector Graphics (SVG) compliant markup language. SVG describestwo dimensional images using XML compliant tags that define imageattributes, which allows developers to create interactive and animatedimages. SVG can display two dimensional vector graphics shapes, bitmapgraphics, and text. While SVG is limited in terms of the animatedeffects it can convey, it has the advantage of generally using smallerfile sizes than bitmap equivalents and is therefore well suited for usewith portable wireless devices such as cellular phones and PDAs that arerestricted by limited bandwidth and memory resources.

In one embodiment of the present invention, XML module 231 uses textparameter information 213 to identify the sections of textual content212 which have greater emotional value. XML module 231 appends differentXML attributes to each section of XML document 240 which are used toidentify portions of textual message 210 having greater emotional value.The appended attributes can convey information used by text animationengine 250 to render those portions differently than other portions inanimated text message 260 to give them visual emphasis.

For example, a user sending the message, “I will see you tomorrow,” maywish to emphasize the word “you.” While composing textual message 210,the user indicates that the word “you” has greater emotional value thanthe rest of the words in the sentence. Textual content 212 is this casecomprises “I will see you tomorrow,” and text parameter information 213records that the user has indicated that the word “you” has greateremotional value to the user. Using this information, XML module 231creates XML document 240. In XML document 240, the phrase “I will see,”is described as a first element in document 240 having a first set ofattributes. The word “you” is described as a second element in document240 having a different set of attributes than the first element in thedocument. Finally, the word “tomorrow” is described in the document as athird element which has the same attributes as the first element.

The attributes assigned to the various sections of XML document 240 arederived from animation parameters 233. In embodiments of the presentinvention, animation parameters 233 are either default values, or areset by the user and describe animation effects and other parameters ofanimated text message 260. For example, the user can define defaultparameters for text in animated text message 260 which is not visuallyemphasized because it was not identified as having greater emotionalvalue in textual message 210. The user can also define defaultparameters for portions of animated text message 260 which are visuallyemphasized because they were identified in textual message 210 as havinggreater emotional value.

There are a variety of parameters which can be defined by a user inembodiments of the present invention. For example, the user can define abackground for animated text message 260. This can include, but is notlimited to, background color, background images, and animated backgroundimages. The user can also define font parameters for animated textmessage 260. Additionally, the user can set different default fontparameters for the portions of animated text message 260 which are to bevisually emphasized. Font parameters can include, but are not limitedto, font size, font color, font style (e.g., bold, italic, underlined,etc.), and font opacity.

Font opacity refers to the ratio between a background color and thecolor of an item in the foreground such as text. If the text is selectedto have 100% opacity, then none of the background color shows throughthe text. If the text is selected to have 0% opacity, then all of thebackground color is shows through the text and makes the textindistinguishable from the background. Therefore, a font with 100%opacity can be more easily distinguished from its background than a fontwith 50% opacity and could be used to indicate an emphasized portion ofa message. In embodiments of the present invention, a user can set adefault level of, for example, 80% opacity for the textual message as awhole and 100% opacity for portions of the animated text message whichshould be visually emphasized.

Animation parameters 233 may also comprise animation parameters foranimated text message 260 which are used to simulate motion of textualmessage 210 in animated text message 260. This may include, but is notlimited to: scrolling, text fade-in, text fade-out, flashing text, etc.Furthermore, the user may select different default parameters forportions of textual message which have been indicated as having greateremotional value. In so doing, the user can designate portions ofanimated text message 260 which are to be visually emphasized. Using theabove example, the word “you” is displayed using different animationeffects than the rest of the sentence in the message, “I will see youtomorrow.” The user can designate animation parameters which give theword “you” the appearance of motion, while the rest of the words in thesentence remain stationary.

In embodiments of the present invention, animation parameters 233 mayalso comprise settings which de-emphasize in animated text message 260,the portions of textual message 210 which were not indicated as havinggreater emotional value. Using the above example, the word “you” maycontinue to be displayed in animated text message 260 while the otherwords in the sentence (e.g., “I”, “will”, “see”, and “tomorrow”) fadeout (e.g., by gradually decreasing their opacity level). In anotherimplementation, the word “you” is displayed with 100% opacity tocontrast it more effectively from its background while the other wordsin the sentence, which do not have greater emotional value, aredisplayed with a 80% opacity level so that they are harder todistinguish from the background and thus visually de-emphasized.

The user may also identify a portion of textual message 210 which isvisually de-emphasized in animated text message 260. For example, in themessage, “I will see you tomorrow,” the user may indicate that the word“will” has less emotional value. This information is recorded in textparameter information 213 and used by XML module 231 to assign adifferent set of attributes to the word “will” in XML document 240. Inembodiments of the present invention, a user may preview the appearanceof animated text message 260 before sending XML document 240 to arecipient. This allows the user to, for example, change the animationeffects before sending the message.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C show sequences of exemplary screen shots displayingtext messages that have been animated in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention. In FIG. 4A, a sequence of exemplary screen shotsis shown in which one of the words in the message,“it's so cool” appearsto scroll into the display from the right side. As shown in FIG. 4A, theword “so” is visually emphasized by displaying it in a larger font sizethan the word “it's”. Similarly, the word “cool” is visually emphasizedby displaying it in a larger font size than the other words in themessage. This is a result of these indicating that these words haveheightened emotional value in text parameter information 213. As shownin FIG. 4A, the use of varying font sizes indicates varying degrees ofemphasis.

In FIG. 4B, the words “so” and “cool” alternate between two differentfont sizes which gives them the appearance of flashing. For example, inscreen shots 420 and 422, the words “so” and “cool” are visuallyemphasized by displaying them with a larger font size than the word“it's.” In screen shots 421 and 423, the words “so” and “cool” aredisplayed in an even larger font size and therefore convey theappearance of flashing to a user viewing the message.

In screen shot 430 of FIG. 4C, the words “it's” and “so” are displayedin a first portion of the screen. In screen shot 431, the word “so” isvisually emphasized by displaying it with a larger font size than wasused in screen shot 430. In screen shot 432, the words “it's” and “so”are displayed in a different portion of the screen and the word “so” isdisplayed with the font size in which it was originally displayed.Furthermore, in screen shot 432, the word “cool” is displayed as if itis scrolling in from the right side of the display and in a larger fontsize than the words “it's” and “so.” Finally, in screen shot 433, thewords “cool” is completely displayed.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C show additional sequences of text messages thathave been animated in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. In screen shot 510 of FIG. 5A, the words “it's” and “so” aredisplayed in separate portions of the screen. Furthermore, the word “so”is visually emphasized by displaying it with a larger font size than theword “it's.” In screen shot 511, the words “it's” and “so” are displayedin different portions of the screen than the portions in which they weredisplayed in screen shot 510. In screen shot 513, the phrase, “it's socool” is displayed with the word “cool” visually emphasized bydisplaying it with a larger font size than the words “it's” and “so.”Furthermore, the words “it's” and “so” are displayed in differentportions of the screen than in screen shots 510 and 511, thus giving theappearance of random motion. Finally, in screen shot 513, the words“it's,” “so,” and “cool” are displayed in different portions of thescreen than in the preceding three screen shots, thus furthering theappearance of random motion of the words. Additionally, the words “so”and “cool” are visually emphasized by displaying then with larger fontsizes than the word “it's.”

In screen shot 520 of FIG. 5B, the words “it's” and “so” are displayedwith the word “so” visually emphasized by displaying it with a largerfont size than the word “it's.” In screen shot 521, the word “cool” isalso displayed and visually emphasized by displaying it with a largerfont size than the words “it's and “so.” In screen shot 522, the words“it's,” “so,” and “cool” are displayed in different portions of thescreen than in screen shots 520 and 521 and give the appearance of thephrase scrolling to the top of the display. Finally, in screen shot 523,a portion of the word “so” remains visible on the display as well as theword “cool.”

In screen shot 530 of FIG. 5C, the word “it's” is displayed upon thescreen. In screen shot 531, the word “so” is added and visuallyemphasized by displaying it with a larger font size than the word“it's.” In screen shot 532, the word “cool” is displayed and visuallyemphasized by displaying it with a larger font size than the words“it's” and “so.” Finally in screen shot 533, the words “so” and “cool”are displayed having different orientations in relation to the displaythan in the preceding screen shots. This gives further visual emphasisto these words because of their implied motion in comparison to the word“its.”

Thus, various animation effects can be used to visually emphasize aportion of a textual message having heightened emotional value inembodiments of the present invention. While the present invention citesthe above examples of animation effects, it is understood that thepresent invention is well suited for utilizing other visual processingeffects to visually emphasize a portion of a textual message.

FIG. 6 shows exemplary text appearances having font parameters that areadjusted in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. InFIG. 6, five levels visual emphasis are displayed (e.g., levels 610,620, 630, 640, and 650 of FIG. 6). Each level of emphasis displays aword in a different font size. For example, level 3 (630) displays aword at a scale of 100%, while level 5 (650) displays a word at a scaleof 200%. When a user indicates a portion of a textual message that hasheightened emotional value (e.g., by supplying text parameterinformation 213), that portion of the textual message may be displayedusing the text parameters of level 5. Additionally, each of the levelsof visual emphasis shown is associated with an opacity parameter. Fontopacity refers to the ratio between a background color and the color ofan item in the foreground such as text. In the embodiments of FIG. 6,text displayed using the level 5 parameters is displayed with 100%opacity. This means that words displayed with the level 5 parameters canbe more easily distinguished from their background than words displayedwith the level 3 parameters which are displayed with a 70% opacity andtherefore are harder to distinguish from the background color.

For example, level 3 (e.g., level 630 of FIG. 6) may be used as thedefault font parameter for portions of animated text message 260 whichare not to be visually emphasized. Words which have been indicated ashaving heightened emotional value may be displayed using the levels 4and 5 parameters (e.g., levels 640 and 650 respectively) to convey agreater degrees of emphasis than level 3 in animated text message 260.Additionally, words may be displayed using levels 2 and 1 parameters(e.g., levels 620 and 610 respectively) to convey less emphasis thanlevel 3. Additionally, different animation parameters may beautomatically associated with the font parameters to indicate greateremphasis. For example, a word having level 5 parameters may be displayedas flashing through various font sizes (e.g., in a manner similar toscreen shots 420, 421, 422, and 423 of FIG. 4B), while a word havinglevel 3 parameters may be displayed as static or without any additionalanimation effects.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are exemplary graphical user interfaces showing ananimated text message (e.g., animated text message 260 of FIG. 2) inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In accordance withembodiments of the present invention, FIGS. 7A, and 7B may be a previewof animated text message 260 which is being viewed by the creator oftextual message 210, or may be the animated text message 260 which isbeing viewed by the recipient of the message.

In FIG. 7A, the message “Hey, what'up buddy?” is displayed. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the user hasindicated that the word “buddy” has greater emotional value whencreating textual message 210. Thus, in FIG. 7A, the word “buddy” isdisplayed in animated text message 260 with a larger font size than therest of the sentence in order to give it visual emphasis.

In FIG. 7B, additional animation processing has been performed upon themessage “Hey, what'up buddy?” Portions of animated text message 260 aredisplayed in different areas of graphical user interface 700 to simulatemotion of the text. In embodiments of the present invention, differentanimation parameters can be designated for the emphasized portions ofanimated text message 260 (e.g., the word “buddy” in FIG. 7B) toindicate greater emotional value. For example, the word “buddy” maycontinue moving in various portions of graphical user interface 700while the other words in the message remain stationary.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are exemplary graphical user interfaces showing ananimated text message (e.g., animated text message 260 of FIG. 2) inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. According toembodiments of the present invention, FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C may be apreview of animated text message 260 which is being viewed by thecreator of textual message 210, or may be the animated text message 260which is being viewed by the recipient of the message.

In FIG. 8A, the message “Oh my god!!! I cannot believe this!!” isdisplayed. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, theuser has indicated that the words “god,” “cannot,” and “this” havegreater emotional value when creating textual message 210. Thus, in FIG.8A, the word “believe” is displayed in a larger font size than the words“Oh,” and “my” to convey greater emphasis. Additionally, the words“god,” “cannot,” and “this” are displayed in animated text message 260with the largest font size to indicate that these words have thegreatest amount of emotional value

In FIG. 8B, additional animation processing has been performed upon themessage, “Oh my god!!! I cannot believe this!!” Additionally, abackground image is now displayed. In embodiments of the presentinvention, a user can designate background images (e.g., pictures oranimated images) to be displayed in animated text message 260.

In FIG. 8C, portions of animated text message 260 are displayed indifferent areas of graphical user interface 800 to simulate motion ofthe text.

Additionally, animation processing has been performed so that portionsof the original message are no longer displayed.

Referring again to FIG. 3, data from an audio message 220 can also beused as an input to text animation engine 230 using audio plug-in 221.Audio plug-in 221 may include a voice recognition component 222 forcreating textual content 223. Textual content 223 is a literaltranscription of audio message 220. There are a variety of commerciallyavailable voice recognition software systems which can be used withembodiments of the present invention to convert audio message 220 intotextual content 223. Thus, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, textual content 223 is the textual equivalent of audiomessage 220.

Additionally, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention,volume/pitch information 224 about audio message 220 is captured byaudio plug-in 221. When a person is speaking, emotional value oremphasis is often conveyed by the volume at which a particular word isspoken, or by the pitch at which a particular word is spoken. Forexample, a user will often speak a word having greater emotional valueslightly louder in order to emphasize that word. Alternatively, aspeaker may say a word or phrase at a slightly higher or lower pitch inorder to indicate emphasis. While the present embodiment recitesutilizing volume and/or pitch information in order to indicate portionsof audio message 220 having greater emotional value, the presentinvention is well suited to utilize other information for indicating aportion of audio message 220 having greater emotional value.

In one embodiment of the present invention, audio plug-in 221 utilizesspectrum analysis software (not shown) for capturing volume/pitchinformation 224. There are a variety of software implemented spectrumanalyzers currently utilized in multi-media computer applications. Atypical spectrum analyzer divides an audio signal into defined frequencyranges and displays the relative signal strength of each of thosefrequency ranges. Audio plug-in 221 can utilize spectrum analysissoftware to detect portions of audio message 220 which are emphasized bya speaker and indicate that those portions have greater emotional value.

For example, when a user wants to emphasize a portion of a spokenmessage, they usually speak that portion louder than other portions ofthe message. The spectrum analysis software can be configured toautomatically detect when a portion of an audio message is significantlylouder than other parts of the message and indicate in volume/pitchinformation 224 that that portion has greater emotional value thananother part of audio message 220.

Alternatively, when a user wants to emphasize a portion of a spokenmessage, they may speak that portion at a higher or lower pitch thanother portions of the message. Audio plug-in 221 can be provided withpre-set parameters to detect the portions of the message which arespoken at higher or lower pitch than other portions of audio message 220and indicate in volume/pitch information 224 that that portion hasgreater emotional value than another part of audio message 220.

FIG. 9 shows exemplary text appearances having font parameters basedupon voice pitch and volume in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. In embodiments of the present invention, input voicepitch 910 and input voice volume 920 are used as parameters forindicating a portion of audio message 220 which has greater emotionalvalue. Input voice pitch 910 is displayed in a manner comparable to thedisplay of frequency ranges used by spectrum analyzers while input voicevolume 920 is displayed in a manner comparable to the display ofrelative signal strength.

FIG. 9 shows how text in animated text message 260 will be displayed asthe user's voice pitch and volume vary. For example, word 930 is spokenat a pitch of +2 and a volume of 4 and is displayed with different fontparameters than word 940 which is spoken at a pitch of −1 and a volumeof 2. In embodiments of the present invention, animation parameters canalso be assigned to a particular word based upon the input voice pitchand input voice volume. For example, word 930 may be displayed tosimulate motion while word 940 remains stationary to give it greatervisual emphasis.

Referring still to FIG. 3, animation plug-in 232 is for converting datafrom XML module 231 into animated text message 260. For example, a userreceives XML document 240 as input into a second text animation engineon their computer (e.g., text animation engine 250 of FIG. 2). XMLmodule 231 translates XML document 240 into instructions to animationplug-in 232, causing it to create animated text message 260. In oneembodiment, XML module 231 translates XML document into a formatcompatible with animation plug-in 232. However, in other embodiments ofthe present invention, re-formatting of XML document 240 into acompatible format is performed by animation plug-in 232, or by anintermediary module (not shown). In accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, a plurality of animation formats can be supported bya plurality of animation plug-ins including, but not limited to,Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Director, Java, JavaScript, AdobeAftereffects, Adobe Premier, C++, etc.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, text animationengine 230 may exist as a stand alone application, or as middleware forother applications. For example, the present invention can be used withexisting music player applications to display animated text of musiclyrics while the music is being played. In another implementation, thepresent invention can be used to display animated text in conjunctionwith television broadcasts such as sports events, or children'sprogramming. In embodiments of the present invention, an audio file maybe kept of audio message 220 which can be sent at the same time XMLdocument 240 is sent. This allows, for example, a recipient toconcurrently listen to audio message 220 while viewing animated textmessage 260. This could be used, for example, with voice messagingsystems to provide an audio component to animated text message 260.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for expressingemotion in text message in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 2 and to step 1010 of FIG. 10, a portion atextual message having greater emotional value is dynamically indicated.In embodiments of the present invention, a user creating a textualmessage (e.g., textual message 210 of FIG. 2) dynamically indicates aportion of the textual message having greater emotional value. Steps1010 a, 1010 b,and 1010 c discuss in greater detail, a method fordynamically indicating a portion of a textual message in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

In step 1010 a of FIG. 10, a key on a keyboard is depressed for a periodlonger than a typical debounce interval. “Bouncing” is a term used todescribe what happens when the switch for a keyboard key is closed oropened. Instead of a single, square edge signal being generated, aswitch change typically consists of several rapid on-off cycles whichare a result of the electrical signal “bouncing” during the transitionof the switch. The signal actually received by the keyboard'smicro-controller input pin looks like a series of spikes and can causethe keyboard micro-controller to interpret the multiple spikes asmultiple keyboard requests.

To prevent having the keyboard micro-controller from interpreting thesignal bounce as a rapid series of button press operations, a “debounce”routine may be incorporated into the keyboard micro-controller whichcauses it to wait a given period before accepting another keyboardrequest. For example, a typical series of signal spikes may occur forapproximately 10 milli-seconds after a key is pressed. The debounceroutine may cause the keyboard micro-controller to wait forapproximately 20 milli-seconds after a key press before acceptinganother keyboard request.

In step 1010 b of FIG. 10, a plurality of text parameters for acharacter associated with the key are accessed while the key isdepressed. In one embodiment of the present invention, while a key isheld down, the displayed letter cycles through a series of differenttext parameters, such as a plurality of font sizes. For example, iftextual message 210 is being displayed with a font size of 10, holdingdown a key causes the letter associated with the depressed key to cyclebetween font size 12, font size 14, font size 16, and font size 10again. Additionally, in embodiments of the present invention, while thekey remains depressed, the font opacity will cycle through a series ofvalues while the font size is being cycled. While the key remainsdepressed, the associated letter will continue to cycle through thedifferent font sizes and/or opacity values until one is chosen (e.g., byreleasing the key when the desired font size and/or opacity isdisplayed). While the present embodiment specifically recites font sizesand opacity, the present invention is well suited for displaying avariety of font characteristics which can be used to identify a portionof a textual message having greater emotional value. In otherembodiments of the present invention, while the key remains depressedthe associated letter may cycle through a plurality of fonts, colors,font styles, etc.

In step 1010 c FIG. 10, one of the plurality of text parametersassociated with the character is chosen. Using the above example, a usercan select a particular font size by releasing the key when the letterassociated with the key is displayed in the desired font size. Thus, ifthe user wants to select a font size of 14 for the letter beingdisplayed, the user releases the depressed key when the letter isdisplayed in the appropriate font size. In one embodiment, the user canchange the font of a letter of a word and the rest of the letters in theword will be displayed in the same font. The next word will then bedisplayed in the default font size unless a different font is selectedby the user. In another embodiment, when the font of a letter ischanged, the words which follow are displayed in the newly selected fontsize until a new font size is selected. In so doing, the user isindicating a portion of a textual message (e.g., textual message 210 ofFIG. 2) which has greater emotional value.

This method for accessing a plurality of text parameters is advantageousbecause a user does not have to remove their hands from the keyboardwhile composing a textual message. In prior art methods a user might berequired to utilize a mouse in order to access the text parameters viapull down menus. Many users find this an inconvenient interruption oftheir typing which slows them down while they switch between thekeyboard and the mouse. The present invention allows the user to keeptheir hands on the keyboard and their eyes on the display. As a result,less time is lost switching between the keyboard and the mouse.

Referring to FIG. 3 and to step 1020 of FIG. 10, animation processing ofthe textual message (e.g., textual message 210) is performed wherein theportion of the textual message indicated in steps 1010 a, 1010 b, and1010 c is visually emphasized in an animated text message (e.g.,animated text 260 of FIG. 2). Animation plug-in 232 performs animationprocessing upon data from XML module 231 to create animated text message260. In embodiments of the present invention, the attributes of thevarious sections of XML document 240 describe different animationeffects for portions which are to be visually emphasized in animatedtext message 260 in order to indicate greater emotional value.

FIG. 11 shows one method for emphasizing a portion of a text message inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In exemplaryscreen shot 1110 of FIG. 11, a user is typing the phrase “it's so cool.”As the use completes typing the word “cool” in screen shots 1120 and1130, they continue depressing the “L” key on their keyboard. While thekey remains depressed (e.g., screen shot 1140 of FIG. 11), the font sizeof the word “cool” becomes larger and the opacity value of the fontbecomes larger. In screen shot 1150, as the “L” key remains depressed,the word “cool” is displayed in a smaller font size and with a lesseropacity value. When the word is displayed with the desired font size andopacity value, the user can release the “L” key and continue typingtheir message. In so doing, the user has dynamically indicated that theword “cool” has heightened emotional value and will thus be visuallyemphasized in the textual message.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for expressingemotion in text message in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to step 1210 of FIG. 12, a portion a textualmessage having greater emotional value is dynamically indicated. Inembodiments of the present invention, a user creating a textual message(e.g., textual message 210 of FIG. 2) dynamically indicates a portion ofthe textual message having greater emotional value. Steps 1210 a, and1210 b discuss in greater detail, a method for dynamically indicating aportion of a textual message in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

In step 1210 a of FIG. 12, a keyboard operable for detecting an amountof force exerted upon the keyboard is utilized. Some Musical InstrumentDigital Interface (MIDI) compatible keyboards have the ability to sensethe amount of pressure which is being applied to the keys while they aredepressed. This pressure information, commonly called “aftertouch”, maybe used to control some aspects of the sound produced by a synthesizer(e.g., volume or vibrato). The keyboard sends separate data bytes toindicate which key has been depressed and the amount of pressure exertedupon it.

In embodiments of the present invention, a typing keyboard is similarlyconfigured to detect the amount of pressure exerted upon it. Thus,depressing a key on a keyboard generates a signal indicating which keyhas been depressed, and the amount of force exerted upon the depressedkey. The magnitude of the force exerted upon a key can be used toindicate a portion of textual message 210 which has greater emotionalvalue than other parts of the message.

In step 1210 b of FIG. 12, a key is depressed with a greater amount offorce than required to register a typical key press to indicate theportion of the textual message having greater emotional value. Using apressure sensitive keyboard, a user can exert a different amount ofpressure upon the keyboard to emphasize a portion of a textual message(e.g., textual message 210 of FIG. 2) having greater emotional value.For example, a user can establish a baseline measurement to establishthe amount of force which indicates a typical key press. When the userwants to emphasize a particular word, they exert a greater amount ofpressure than the baseline measurement when typing the first letter ofthe word. This information is captured as text parameter information 213which identifies this particular word as having greater emotional value.

Additionally, the user can exert varying amounts of pressure upon thekeyboard to indicate a greater or lesser degree of intensity in textmessage 260. Using pre-configured parameter information, the textanimation engine of the present invention visually emphasizes that wordwhen animated text 260 is displayed. This method is advantageous becausethe user is not required to interrupt their composition of the messagewhen indicating a portion of textual message 210 which has greateremotional value. Thus, the present invention provides a method forexpressing emotion in a text message which is convenient and whichfacilitates expressing the intensity of the user's emotion as well.

Referring to again to FIG. 3 and to step 1220 of FIG. 12, animationprocessing of the textual message (e.g., textual message 210) isperformed wherein the portion of the textual message indicated in steps1210 a and 1210 b are visually emphasized in an animated text message(e.g., animated text 260 of FIG. 2). Animation plug-in 232 performsanimation processing upon data from XML module 231 to create animatedtext message 260. In embodiments of the present invention, theattributes of the various sections of XML document 240 describedifferent animation effects for portions which are to be visuallyemphasized in animated text message 260 in order to indicate greateremotional value.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for expressingemotion in text message in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 2 and to step 1310 of FIG. 13, a portion atextual message having greater emotional value is dynamically indicated.In embodiments of the present invention, a user creating a textualmessage (e.g., textual message 210 of FIG. 2) dynamically indicates aportion of the textual message having greater emotional value. Steps1310 a, and 1310 b discuss in greater detail, a method for dynamicallyindicating a portion of a textual message in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

In step 1310 a of FIG. 13, a message is composed using a pressuresensitive graphics tablet. Currently, there are commercially availablegraphics tablets which are capable of detecting up to 1024 differentlevels of pressure exerted upon them. A user can utilize a stylus towrite or draw on the graphics tablet and the images created by the userare stored as a file. By exerting different levels of pressure on thegraphics tablet, the user can cause, the image to display differentcharacteristics such as different colors, or different line weights. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, text animationengine 230 can be configured to interpret a greater amount of forceexerted upon a pressure sensitive graphics tablet as an indication of aportion of textual message 210 which has greater emotional value.Additionally, a user may exert a lesser amount of force than a defaultsetting to indicate a portion of textual message that will be visuallyde-emphasized in animated text message 260.

In step 1310 b of FIG. 13, a greater amount of force than that requiredto register an input is exerted on the pressure sensitive graphicstablet to indicate the portion of the textual message having greateremotional value. The user can establish a baseline measurement whichestablishes a default pressure level for inputting text characters. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, while composingtextual message 210, a user can exert different levels of force upon apressure sensitive graphics tablet to indicate a portion of the messagewhich has greater emotional value.

Referring to FIG. 3 and to step 1320 of FIG. 13, animation processing ofthe textual message (e.g., textual message 210) is performed wherein theportion of the textual message indicated in steps 1310 a, and 1310 b isvisually emphasized in an animated text message (e.g., animated text 260of FIG. 2). Animation plug-in 232 performs animation processing upondata from XML module 231 to create animated text message 260. Inembodiments of the present invention, the attributes of the varioussections of XML document 240 describe different animation effects forportions which are to be visually emphasized in animated text message260 in order to indicate greater emotional value.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for expressingemotion in a text message in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and to step 1410 of FIG. 14, aportion a textual message having greater emotional value is dynamicallyindicated. In embodiments of the present invention, a user creating atextual message (e.g., textual message 210 of FIG. 2) dynamicallyindicates a portion of the textual message having greater emotionalvalue. Steps 1410 a, and 1410 b discuss in greater detail, a method fordynamically indicating a portion of a textual message in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

In step 1410 a of FIG. 14, a first data entry rate is established. Auser's typing speed may also be used to indicate emotion or emphasis inembodiments of the present invention. For example, a user may typefaster than normal when angry or excited. Thus, in embodiments of thepresent invention, a user can establish a baseline or “normal” typingrate which could be used by text animation engine 230 to indicateportions of textual message 210 which do not have greater emotionalvalue.

In step 1410 b of FIG. 14, a second data entry rate is utilized toindicate a portion of the textual message having a greater emotionalvalue. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, when auser is typing at a significantly faster rate than their baseline rate,text animation engine 230 can utilize this data rate information toindicate portions of textual message 210 which have greater emotionalvalue to the user.

Referring to FIG. 3 and to step 1420 of FIG. 14, animation processing ofthe textual message (e.g., textual message 210) is performed wherein theportion of the textual message indicated in steps 1410 a, and 1410 b arevisually emphasized in an animated text message (e.g., animated text 260of FIG. 2). Animation plug-in 232 performs animation processing upondata from XML module 231 to create animated text message 260. Inembodiments of the present invention, the attributes of the varioussections of XML document 240 describe different animation effects forportions which are to be visually emphasized in animated text message260 in order to indicate greater emotional value.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are sequences of exemplary screen shots showing a textmessage animated in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. In the embodiments of FIGS. 15A and 15B, different typingspeeds are used when creating the textual message and result indifferent text animation speeds when the animated text message isdisplayed. For example, FIGS. 15A and 15B represent equivalent timeintervals for displaying an animated text message, the sequence ofscreen shots of FIG. 15A display the phrase “it's so cool” much quickerthan the series of screen shots of FIG. 15B. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, using a second data entry rate indicates a portion ofa textual message having greater emotional value. Thus, FIG. 15B mayrepresent an example of a message typed at a baseline or normal typingrate while FIG. 15A represents a message typed at a second or fastertyping rate. Thus, the more rapid scrolling of text shown in FIG. 15Amay indicate excitement, anger, or some other strong emotion, while theslower scrolling of text shown in FIG. 15B may indicate a lack of or alesser degree of those emotions.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for indicating aportion of a textual message having greater emotional value inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step 1610 ofFIG. 16, an audio message is accessed. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, an audio message (e.g., audio message 220 of FIG.2) may comprise a spoken message, a previously recorded message, musicallyrics, television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, etc.

In step 1620 of FIG. 16, a portion of the audio message having greateremotional value is dynamically indicated. Referring again to FIG. 3,embodiments of the present invention are capable of indicating portionsof audio message 220 which have greater emotional value. This maycomprise portions of audio message 220 which are audibly louder thanother portions of the message, or portions which are at an audiblehigher or lower pitch than other portions of audio message 220. In oneembodiment of the present invention, different XML attributes areautomatically assigned to portions of XML document 240 to indicate theportions of audio message 220 which have greater emotional value (e.g.,audibly louder portions of audio message 220 and/or audibly higher orlower in pitch).

In step 1630 of FIG. 16, animation processing of the audio message isperformed wherein the indicated portion of the audio message is visuallyemphasized in an animated text message. Referring again to FIG. 3,animation plug-in 232 processes information from XML module 231 tocreate animated text message 260. Portions of animated text message 260are visually emphasized which correspond to the portions of audiomessage 220 which have greater emotional value.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a computer implemented method for indicating aportion of a textual message having heightened emotional value inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step 1710 ofFIG. 17, an audio message is accessed. Referring again to FIG. 3, audiomessage 220 is received by audio plug-in 221. In accordance withembodiments of the present invention, audio message 220 can be a spokenmessage, or another audio message such as a movie, television broadcast,or music.

In step 1720 of FIG. 17, a textual equivalent of the audio message iscreated. In embodiments of the present invention, textual content 223 iscreated by voice recognition module 222 and is a transcription of audiomessage 220. In embodiments of the present invention, XML module usestextual content 223 as the content of XML document 240. Thus, inembodiments of the present invention, XML document 240 is a textualequivalent of audio message 220.

In step 1730 of FIG. 17, a first portion of the audio message havinggreater emotional value is identified. In embodiments of the presentinvention, volume/pitch information 224 identifies portions of audiomessage 220 having greater emotional value. For example, volume/pitchinformation 224 may identify portions of audio message 224 which areaudibly louder than another portion of audio message 220 and identifythat portion as having greater emotional value. Additionally,volume/pitch information 224 may identify portions of audio message 220which are spoken at an audibly higher or lower pitch than anotherportion of audio message 220 and identify that portion as having greateremotional value.

In step 1740 of FIG. 17, a first processing parameter is assigned to afirst portion of the textual equivalent corresponding to the firstportion of the audio message. In accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, XML module 231 uses animation parameters 233 toassign processing parameters to a portion of XML document 240 whichcorresponds to the portion of audio message 220 which is identified ashaving greater emotional value. For example, XML module 231 appendsdifferent XML or SVG attributes to each section of XML document 240which is identified as having greater emotional value.

In step 1750 of FIG. 17, animation processing of the textual equivalentis performed wherein the first portion of the textual equivalent isvisually emphasized in an animated text message in response to the firstprocessing parameter. In embodiments of the present invention, textanimation engine 230 further comprises an animation plug-in 232 whichconverts data from XML module 231 into animated text message 260. Thisconverting may be performed by a recipient of XML document 240, or bythe user who created audio message 220. Thus, a user may pre-viewanimated text message 260 before sending XML document 240 to arecipient. Additionally, in embodiments of the present invention, textanimation engine 230 is well suited for sending a document (e.g.,document 270 of FIG. 2) in a different format (e.g., Macromedia Flash,Macromedia Director, Java, JavaScript, Adobe Aftereffects, AdobePremier, C++, etc) if a recipient's computer is not configured with atext animation engine (e.g., text animation engine 2 250 and of FIG. 2).

Embodiments of the present invention are also well suited to be usedupon handheld electrical devices such as Personal Digital Assistants(PDAs) and cellular telephones. For example, a PDA can utilize apressure sensitive graphics tablet, as described in the discussion ofFIG. 10, as a handwriting recognition area. While writing textualmessage 210 on the PDA, a user can dynamically indicate portions oftextual message 210 by exerting greater pressure upon the graphicstablet. If the user's PDA is not equipped with a pressure sensitivegraphics tablet, the user can utilize an interface displayed upon thePDA which simulates a typing keyboard and use a stylus to depress the“keys” on the display. The user can then indicate portions of textualmessage 210 which have greater emotional value by depressing a key for alonger period in a manner similar to that of method 1000 of FIG. 10.

The present invention is also well suited for use on cellular telephonesor other portable wireless devices. For example, FIG. 18 shows anexemplary portable wireless device displaying a message in whichportions are visually emphasized in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. Many PDAs enable a user to browse the World Wide Webvia a Web portal. Using an embodiment of the present invention, acellular provider or Web portal can offer text animation as a servicefor subscribers. A user could access a server which stores messageswhich will be displayed on their portable wireless device as animatedtext messages (e.g., animated text message 260 of FIG. 2). In oneembodiment, a media viewer, which can either run as an embeddedapplication or downloaded onto the portable wireless device, is used todisplay animated text message 260.

As an example, in Japan NTT DoCoMo delivers a service called i-modewhich allows users to browse the world wide web. NTT DoCoMo has thei-mode information network through which subscribers can access a webpage by entering in the web page's address. One service provided by NTTDoCoMo allows loading Java applications wirelessly to portable devicesso that users can access various applications without having to storethem on their devices. One application which can be used in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention is the Plazmic Media Engine™.The Plazmic Media Engine™ is a downloadable media player which rendersinteractive and animated graphics from Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)compliant documents which utilize one form of XML.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary cellular telephone displaying a message inwhich portions are visually emphasized in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention. Embodiments of the present invention areadvantageous for displaying textual messages upon devices having smalldisplay interfaces because a user can view an message without having toscroll down to view the entire message. For example, if displaying alarge message, animation parameters 233 may include removing portions ofthe textual message after a period of time to allow displayingadditional portions of the textual message. In prior artimplementations, if a message exceeded a certain length, it could not bedisplayed in its entirety upon devices having limited screen space(e.g., cellular telephones and wireless PDAs). A user had to scroll downto view the portions of the message that were not currently beingdisplayed.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show implementations for displaying animated textmessages upon handheld wireless devices in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention. In FIG. 20A, a user 2010 sends a message 2020to a server 2030. A service provider (e.g., an Internet serviceprovider, cellular provider, or Web portal) can provide a subscriptionservice which allows subscribers to view animated text messages.

In one embodiment, a user sends a text message to server 2030 and maymanually indicate portions of message 2020 having greater emotionalvalue while it is resident on server 2030. In another embodiment, user2010 sends a voice message which is stored upon server 2030. Thesubscription service can convert the voice message into a textualequivalent (e.g., using audio plug-in 221 of FIG. 2) and automaticallyindicate portions of the textual equivalent that have greater emotionalvalue (e.g., using audio plug-in 221 of FIG. 2).

In the embodiment of FIG. 20A, server 2030 sends a new mail notification2040 to recipient 2050. Recipient 2050 connects to server 2030 to browsethe animated text message stored upon server 2030. In FIG. 20A,recipient 2050 can be a handheld wireless device such as a cellulartelephone of internet enabled PDA. In embodiments of the presentinvention, a media viewer is used to display the animated text messageand can be run as an embedded application on the wireless device ordownloaded onto the device from the service provider.

In embodiments of the present invention, user 2010 and recipient 2050can connect to server 2030 wirelessly using, for example, a cellulartelephone or internet enabled PDA. Alternatively, user 2010 andrecipients 2050 can connect to server 2030 with a computer having aninternet connection (e.g., high speed internet or dial-up connection).

In the embodiment of FIG. 20B, user 2010 sends an XML message 2060 toserver 2070. XML message 2060 is a message that has been configured inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention (e.g., XML document240 of FIG. 2). In other words, user 2010 has indicated portions of atextual message that have heightened emotional value and, using textanimation engine 230, XML message 2060 has been created. In XML message2060, the indicated portions of the user's original message havingheightened emotional value are identified using appended XML tags thatdefine different attributes for those portions. The appended XML tagscan convey information for causing those portions of XML message 2060 tobe rendered differently than other portions of the message.

Thus, embodiments of the present invention can create messages (e.g.,XML document 240 of FIG. 2) which can be displayed on wireless portabledevices as animated text messages (e.g., animated text message 260 ofFIG. 2) in which portions having greater emotional value are visuallyemphasized.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method forexpressing emotion in a text message, is thus described. While thepresent invention has been described in particular embodiments, itshould be appreciated that the present invention should not be construedas limited by such embodiments, but rather construed according to thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for expressing emotion in a textmessage, said method comprising: detecting an amount of force exertedupon a key of a keyboard; receiving a key press signal indicative of agreater amount of force than that required to register said key press toindicate a portion of said text message to be associated with heightenedemotional value, and processing said text message wherein said portionof said text message is visually emphasized in an animated text message.2. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing further comprisesusing a font parameter for displaying said portion of said text messagein said animated text message.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein saidfont parameter comprises a font size.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinsaid font parameter comprises an opacity value.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein said processing further comprises: accessing a firstanimation parameter to simulate a first motion of said text message insaid animated text message; and accessing a second animation parameterto simulate a second motion of said portion of said text message in saidanimated text message.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said firstanimation parameter is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language)format.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said first animation parameteris stored as an XML attribute.
 8. A method for expressing emotion in atext message, said method comprising: receiving a text message via apressure sensitive graphics tablet; receiving an amount of force signalgreater than that required to register an input upon said pressuresensitive graphics tablet to indicate a portion of said text message tobe associated with heightened emotional value; and processing said textmessage wherein said portion of said text message is visually emphasizedin said animated text message.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein saidprocessing further comprises using a font parameter for displaying saidportion of said text message in said animated text message.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein said font parameter comprises a font size.11. The method of claim 9, wherein said font parameter comprises anopacity value.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein said processingfurther comprises: accessing a first animation parameter to simulate afirst motion of said text message in said animated text message; andaccessing a second animation parameter to simulate a second motion ofsaid portion of said text message in said animated text message.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein said first animation parameter is stored inXML format.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said first animationparameter is stored as an XML attribute.
 15. An article of manufactureincluding a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereonthat, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device toperform operations comprising: detecting an amount of force exerted upona key of a keyboard; receiving a key press signal indicative of agreater amount of force than that required to register said key press toindicate a portion of said text message to be associated with heightenedemotional value, and processing said text message wherein said portionof said text message is visually emphasized in an animated text message.16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said processingfurther comprises using a font parameter for displaying said portion ofsaid text message in said animated text message.
 17. The article ofmanufacture of claim 17, wherein said font parameter comprises a fontsize.
 18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein said fontparameter comprises an opacity value.
 19. The article of manufacture ofclaim 15, wherein said processing further comprises: accessing a firstanimation parameter to simulate a first motion of said text message insaid animated text message; and accessing a second animation parameterto simulate a second motion of said portion of said text message in saidanimated text message.
 20. The article of manufacture of claim 15,wherein said first animation parameter is stored in XML format.